OUTSTANDING YOUNG HEROES

Young people will be publicly honoured with The Diana Award for going above and beyond in their daily lives to create and sustain positive change.

Today 85 inspirational children and teens will be presented with the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts – The Diana Award.   The ceremony comes as The Diana Award celebrates its 20^th anniversary year and on Princess Diana’s Birthday.

Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, The Duke of Cambridge and The Duke of Sussex.

These exceptional young people have demonstrated their ability to inspire and mobilise their own generation to service their communities through campaigning, volunteering, fundraising, tackling bullying or overcoming extreme life challenges.  Although their causes and backgrounds are varied, what they all have in common is that they are changing their communities and the world as Princess Diana believed they could.

GEORGE IMAFIDON

LONDON_AGE 22

In 2011, George’s brother Kenny was wrongfully charged with murder and sent to a young offenders’ institution. Although Kenny was released after 6 months, George learnt that young people with a criminal record often end up reoffending and struggle to find employment when released. This made him passionate about providing a brighter future for young people, no matter their background, and inspired him to co-found Motivez app, a personalised platform which allows students to take advantage of career and personal progression opportunities. Over 2,000 users aged 16-25 use the app every month where they can explore their interests and access workshops, seminars, conferences and other events for skill building, networking, and more.

ARIFA NASIM

LONDON_AGE 21

When Arifa first read the stories of victims of forced marriage and honour abuse in the novel Daughters of Shame, she felt compelled to take action. As these hidden practices were highly prevalent in her home borough in London, she decided to launch Educate2Eradicate, a non-profit which strives to eradicate forced marriage, FGM and honour abuse through the power of education. She runs school workshops for staff and students, and has raised awareness of these harmful practices globally at the United Nations in New York as the UK Youth Delegate. Her passion for this cause is inspirational as is her endless determination to make life better for women.

“We congratulate all our new Diana Award Holders from England who are changemakers for their generation. We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens.  For over twenty years The Diana Award has valued and invested in young people encouraging them to continue to make positive change in their communities and lives of others.”

Tessy Ojo, Chief Executive, The Diana Award

WHAT IS THE NOMINATION PROCESS?

Award Holders have been put forward by adults who know the young people in a professional capacity and recognised their efforts as a positive contribution to society. Through a rigorous nomination process, these nominators had to demonstrate the nominee’s impact in five key areas: Vision, Social Impact, Inspiring Others, Youth Leadership, and Service Journey.

There are 13 Diana Award Judging Panels representing each UK region or nation and a further two panels representing countries outside of the UK. Each panel consist of four judges; Two Diana Award Holders, an education or youth work professional, and a business or government representative. The panels have an important main purpose: to determine which nominations from each UK region/nation will receive The Diana Award.

Nominations are judged using the Criteria Guide and Scoring Guide which have been created to measure quality of youth social action.

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